Synalpheus androsi Coutière

Iii, Kenneth S Macdonald, Hultgren, Kristin & Duffy, Emmett, 2009, The sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Crustacea, Decapoda, Alpheidae, Synalpheus) of Discovery Bay, Jamaica, with descriptions of four new species, Zootaxa 2199, pp. 1-57 : 7-9

Synalpheus androsi Coutière

Figure 2, Color plate 1C

Material examined. Jamaica: Non-ovigerous individual, ovigerous female ( VIMS 08JAM3301,02), fore-reef (near M1 channel marker), Discovery Bay, from canals of Hyattella intestinalis . 2 non-ovigerous individuals, ovigerous female ( VIMS 08JAM6501-03), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of H. intestinalis . MaxCL ovigerous female: 4.55 mm. MaxCL non-ovigerous individual: 4.62 mm. Belize: Non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 04CBC0402), Curlew Reef, Belize, from canals of H. intestinalis .

Color. Transparent, faintly blue-violet; distal portion of major chela brown-green; embryos brownish or dark green (see Color plate 1C).

Hosts and ecology. In Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos and Duffy 2007), as well as in Jamaica (present study), S. androsi seems to be a pair-forming specialist inhabiting the canals of H. intestinalis .

Distribution. Bahamas ( Coutière 1909); Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos and Duffy 2007); Jamaica (this study).

Remarks. The unique diagnostic structure of S. androsi , matching concave flexor surfaces of the carpus and merus of the 3rd pereopod, ( Coutière 1909) is not as evident in these individuals as in those from other regions (especially in regards to the carpus), but is still distinct enough to recognize this species (see Fig. 2 for a comparison of Jamaican and Belizean individuals).

PLATE 1. A, Synalpheus agelas ovigerous female (08JAM8503) from Agelas cf. dispar, Rio Bueno Jamaica. B, Synalpheus agelas non-ovigerous individual (08JAM6112) from Agelas cf. clathrodes, Columbus Park, Discovery Bay , Jamaica. C, Synalpheus androsi ovigerous female (08JAM6502) from Hyattella intestinalis, Columbus Park, Discovery Bay , Jamaica. D, Synalpheus bocas (08JAM7402) from Xestospongia proxima, Rio Bueno , Jamaica.

FIGURE 2. Synalpheus androsi . Non-ovigerous individual CL: 4.55 mm (08JAM6501). A, merus and carpus of 3rd pereopod, lateral view; B, merus and carpus of 3rd pereopod, alternate view. Non-ovigerous individual from Belize CL: 3.59 (04CBC0402). C, merus and carpus of 3rd pereopod, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.4 mm for A, B; 0.25 mm for C.